Wauwatosa is cool

My wife and kids and I spent some time Saturday dropping off business cards for “Murder in Wauwatosa: The Mysterious Death of Buddy Schumacher” at several Wauwatosa businesses on Saturday. Everyone was very cordial, and I found out that there are some very cool businesses in town that I hadn’t visited before.

We hit The Village area, the downtown section of town where Buddy Schumacher lived. Along the way, I met some very nice business owners and employees. One young lady working at Noodles and Co. seemed pretty excited to see the author of a book she had been interested in purchasing walk into the restaurant.

I also bumped into the Wauwatosa city attorney at Be Spectacled. He said he’d read the book. I asked him if I was going to get sued, and he said I would not (whew!) and also said that he enjoyed the book.

I love going into some of my old favorites down in The Village like Robertson Hardware, The Chancery and Baskin Robbins. We like to take the girls to Yo Mama frozen yogurt in the old Drew’s building when we’re in town. I’ve got to get back to Café Hollander, too. And, of course, there’s the Little Read Book store, which has been selling “Murder in Wauwatosa” from the beginning. Make sure to stop by and support the local bookstore! We were also able to walk into The Little Red Store, the oldest commercial structure in the city. It always seems to be closed when we come to town, but this time we got there just as it was closing and were able to take a look around.

Later, my wife and I took on North Avenue, scattering our efforts from 92nd Street down to 68th Street. There are so many neat restaurants and stores on this street. From The City Market Café to Alterra Coffee to Rocket Baby Bakery, this area has baked goods and gourmet coffee nailed.

We also found some neat restaurants that were not there when I was growing up in Tosa. Ono Kine Grindz is full of Hawaiian food and drink. I can’t wait to go back and try it out. The new BelAir Cantina at 68th and North is in an old Audi dealership and looks very cool.

Not to mention some places that have been around “forever,” such as Johnson Cycle & Fitness (Wauwatosa’s bike shop that used to be above Tosa Lanes) and Bartz’s Party Store.

My wife found a neat little consignment shop, we came across a store featuring handmade items from Africa and Asia called Fair Trade for All, I ran into a gentleman who runs a store called Candy Bouquet whose father taught with my dad in the Wauwatosa School System for eons, and we love the Rosebud Theatre (formerly Tosa Theatre), where I’ve presented a program on the book.

And I haven’t even mentioned the cool Italian deli … Fattoni’s where Johnson Bicycle Shop used to be. Wow, did the food in there look good!

There are so many other neat places in Wauwatosa. This is just a smattering of the cool places in those two districts. There are many more. I plan to sample some more of them next time I’m in town.